SolarWinds Platform Node Statuses and Fast Polling Explained

In the SolarWinds Platform, nodes will sometimes enter a warning or down status. This article explains what actions are being performed in the background to determine node statuses.

Fast polling is a built-in feature that causes nodes to go into a warning state. By default, the SolarWinds Platform will poll nodes every 2 minutes to track uptime. As soon as the node does NOT respond to a ping, two things change. The node will enter a warning status and the SolarWinds server will begin pinging the node at 10 second intervals for 120 seconds. If the node responds during the 120 second fast polling period then it will be returned to a green/up status and resume the regular 2 minute interval pings. If the node does NOT respond during that time the node will be marked as down after 120 seconds (12 failed pings later). It will also resume the default 2 minute interval ping to check if the node has come back online. 

Fast polling is a built-in feature and cannot be disabled. You cannot change the frequency of the fast ping either. You can, however, change the duration of the fast poll. The setting is set here: 
Settings > All Settings > Polling Settings > under the 'Calculations & Thresholds' section > Node Warning Level (minimum is 10 seconds).